Light swallowed the chamber—
Not bright, not blinding,
but consuming,
a white-gold wave that erased the edges of everything it touched.
Mandakini clamped her hands over her ears as sound itself warped.
Kashyap grabbed her,pulling her behind him.
The younger Mandakini steadied her weapon though her hands trembled.
And through the storm of collapsing space, the Void-Seeker stepped inside—
calm, composed, walking like he owned the end of the world.
"You shouldn't struggle," he said softly.
"It will hurt less if you don't."
Kashyap's eyes burned with fury.
"Then it'll hurt more."
He lunged forward—
but the Void-Seeker raised a single finger.
Time halted.
Kashyap froze mid-step, suspended like a puppet with cut strings.
Dust particles hung motionless in the air.
Mandakini's scream paused in her throat.
Only the Void-Seeker and the younger Mandakini could move.
The girl fired—
a shot of crystallized Pulse-energy—
but the Void-Seeker simply turned his head.
The beam split around him,flowing like water.
"You are predictable," he said gently.
The younger Mandakini growled, "Let them go!"
"I am," he answered.
He walked past her, placing a hand on Kashyap's shoulder.
"You think this is about punishment," he murmured.
"But it's not."
Time loosened.
Kashyap collapsed to his knees, gasping as the world snapped back into motion.
Mandakini ran to him, cupping his face.
"Kashyap!Are you—"
Before she finished, another tremor ripped through the chamber.
Cracks opened in the ceiling.
A vortex of white light tore across the sky—
swallowing what remained of buildings,streets, horizon.
The Void-Seeker stepped away.
"This world is ending," he said simply.
"And you must not be here when it does."
Kashyap stood again, fists clenched.
"You're not touching her."
Mandakini grabbed his arm.
"Kashyap,stop—he's toying with you."
But the Void-Seeker shook his head.
"No.I'm guiding him."
He snapped his fingers.
The Pulse stabilizer flew from Kashyap's pocket into the Void-Seeker's hand.
With a twist,he rewired one of the glowing circuits—
the device sparked violently.
Mandakini stepped forward.
"What are you doing?!"
The Void-Seeker handed it back to Kashyap.
"I've unlocked a Gate."
He pointed to the far wall,where a circular opening of swirling blue light formed.
"It leads to a stable world.One untouched. One safe."
Mandakini's eyes narrowed.
"Why would you help us escape?"
The Void-Seeker hesitated—just for a heartbeat.
Then he looked directly at her.
"Because saving you is the only decision I would still make."
Mandakini went silent—shaken.
The younger Mandakini stared at the Void-Seeker, her voice cracking:
"And what about me?"
He met her eyes with something that looked painfully human.
"I tried to save you.
I failed.
This is the closest I can come to rewriting that failure."
The chamber shook again—
the ceiling collapsed further,and bright void-matter spilled in like an incoming tide of annihilation.
The Gate flickered.
"Go," the Void-Seeker said, his voice suddenly sharp.
"I cannot hold this world open much longer."
Kashyap pulled Mandakini toward the Gate.
But she stopped.
Her voice cracked.
"You're coming with us."
The Void-Seeker froze.
"Mandakini—"
"I refuse to leave you here."
The younger Mandakini looked between them, expression twisting.
Kashyap swallowed hard.
"Come with us.Start over."
A shadow passed behind the Void-Seeker's mask—
pain,regret, longing.
Then he shook his head.
"No.I can't."
"Why not?!" Mandakini shouted.
"Because I am the fracture," he whispered.
"The anomaly of anomalies.
If I step into a stable world,it becomes unstable."
Mandakini stepped closer, tears in her eyes.
"So you're choosing to die?"
He smiled sadly.
"I died a long time ago."
The chamber split.
The world groaned.
The vortex of destruction howled like a beast waking up.
Kashyap grabbed Mandakini's hand again.
"Mandakini,we have to go. Now."
She clenched her jaw—
looked at the Void-Seeker—
then threw her arms around him.
He froze.
Her voice trembled against his chest.
"I don't forgive you.
But I'm sorry you ended up alone."
The Void-Seeker's fingers ghosted over her back—
the closest he'd come to a human answer in years.
"Thank you," he whispered.
Mandakini stepped away and took Kashyap's hand.
The younger Mandakini nodded at them.
"Go.Before this world erases itself."
Kashyap and Mandakini ran for the Gate—
hand in hand.
Behind them, the Void-Seeker turned toward the collapsing world, arms spreading like he was embracing the end.
As Kashyap and Mandakini leapt through the Gate—
A deafening roar swallowed the chamber.
Light consumed everything.
And the world of the younger Mandakini
ceased to exist.